272 POTTERY OF THE ANCIENT PUEBLOS. 



With these people, the highest class of decoration consisted of designs 

 in color. This topic is fully discussed in a subsequent section. 



Origin of ornament. — It is probable that before pottery came into use 

 the decorative art had been cultivated in other fields, and we shall need 

 to look both to nature and to antecedent arts for the originals of many 

 decorative ideas. 



From a remote period man has been able to appreciate beauty. The 

 first exercise of taste would probably be iu the direction of personal 

 adornment, and would consist iu the choice of colors or articles thought 

 to enhance attractiveness, or in the grouping and modification of objects 

 at first functional in character. Later, taste would be exercised on a 

 variety of subjects, and finally it would extend to all things in use. Man 

 may have recognized the comeliness of the first simple articles em- 

 ployed in his humble arts, but when he came to attempt the multipli- 

 cation of these articles artificially, utility was probably the only thought. 

 In reproducing them, however, non-essential features would be copied 

 automatically, aud the work of art would through this accident inherit 

 purely ornamental attributes. 



Thus it appears that the first ideas of decoration do not necessarily 

 originate iu the mind of the potter, but that, like the shapes of art pro- 

 ducts, they may be derived, unconsciously, from nature. This is an 

 important consideration. At a later stage new forms of ornament are 

 derived in a like manner from constructional features of the various 

 arts. Invention of decorative motives is not to be expected of a prim- 

 itive, tradition following people. Advance is greatly by utilization of 

 accidents. 



Use. — A satisfactory classification of this pottery by functional char- 

 acters will be most difficult to make. In the early stages of its manu- 

 facture it was confined chiefly, if not solely, to the alimentary arts. A 

 differentiation of use would take place when certain vessels were set 

 aside for special departments of the domestic work. Thus we would 

 have vessels for eating, for cooking, for carrying, and for storage. When 

 vessels came to be used in superstitious exercises, certain forms were 

 probably set aside for especial ceremonies. With some peoples, particu- 

 lar forms were dedicated to mortuary uses, but we have no clew to any 

 such custom among the ancient Pueblos, as the same vessel served for 

 food both before and after death, and cinerary vessels were not called 

 for. Certain classes of the ruder and plainer ware are found to be black- 

 ened by smoke. These were evidently cooking vessels. The painted 

 pottery rarely shows evidences of such use. Bowls were probably em- 

 ployed chiefly in preparing and serving food. The larger vessels were 

 devoted to carrying and storing water, fruits, grains, and miscellaneous 

 articles. Smaller vessels were used as receptacles for paint, grease, and 

 the like. The ancient people had not yet devoted their ceramic art to 

 trivial uses — there are no toys, no rattles, aud no grotesque figures. 



Classification. — In treating a subject covering so wide a field, and 

 embracing such a diversity of products, a careful classification of the ma- 



